Things do not go his way when Bao, an orphaned physician's apprentice, professes his love to Lan, a wealthy man's daughter. Spurned and heartbroken, Bao takes to the river looking to restart his life when he's cursed by the river witch. This lands him right back with Lan again and headed towards the Gray City with an army, hoping his birth mother can break the curse. But could Lan break the curse herself? I think most readers can figure out pretty quickly the end result of that part of the story, which unfortunately doesn't seem to have the chemistry I was looking for between the two characters. The rest of the story also gets murky as to it's purpose - is it stopping the ruler of the Gray City? Is it finding a cure for the blood pox ravaging people in the area. Is it eliminating the black spice that is bringing a profit to the Gray City. Is it Lady Yen figuring out what she wants and who she wants to be with? It's almost like there's too many substories going on, and unfortunately none seem to focus on Wren, a female warrior who isn't just strong mentally, but physically as well. This book has potential but it gets too convoluted for me and doesn't always seem to put the emphasis on characters I would rather learn more about.